Shakespeare's Use of the Supernatural in Macbeth The supernatural is widely used in Macbeth, and covers major sections of it. It is used to generate interest, and to provoke thought and controversy. At the time the play was written, James the 1st was the English monarch. James the 1st was originally James the 4th on the Scottish throne, until there was a union of crowns between England and Scotland in the late 16th century. Shakespeare wrote the play for him, so the play Macbeth is popularly known as 'the Scottish play'. Also during this time there were many more occurrences when witches and heretics were burnt at the stake than at any period in history, because people believed they manufactured plagues, pestilence and famine through their 'black magic.' When Shakespeare was writing the play, he wanted to impress the king and interest his audience on his stage, the Globe Theatre. Shakespeare did this by including the supernatural in his play. Both king and populous have always been intrigued by the horror of witches and the supernatural, but not as much as in the period of the 16th and 17th centuries. This was probably because of people wanting to be religiously purer and remove disease from society. In the 16th century many events occurred that were bizarre and impossible to explain so were blamed on the supernatural. Before James gained the crown of England as well as Scotland, witchcraft was already on the people's minds. In 1563, parliament made law that making murder by witchcraft was punishable by death. Forty years later, any use of witchcraft was punishable by death. These laws were made by a protestant parli... ... middle of paper ... ...as the famous sword fight between Macbeth and Macduff at the end of the play. In the RSC's version, the sword fight is done conventionally with swords. I consider this to generate a more dramatic and keener interest in it. The Globes version was represented with pebbles signifying their lives, and a weird hand tugging that I did not understand. If I directed the play, I would have gone for a more modern approach. Macbeth could be considered just as some kind of Shakespearean current affairs representation. Because of this, I consider that the witches could have some kind of terrorist guise. Biological and chemical weapons could replace the broth. I think this would be more dramatically effective for the audience. I would also get full use out of the lighting and special effects available in a more modern theatre.
Some pieces of literature are said to rely on the use of supernatural events to allow the plot to advance or to provide foreshadowing. An example of this would be one of Shakespeare’s plays, The Tragedy of Macbeth. Shakespeare applies many magical events, because it gives the play some more depth and to extract out the reader’s emotions. However, in The Tragedy of Julius Caesar, a play also written by Shakespeare, while it does have a few moments, its uses are only intended for indicating how the amount of tragedy sums up and how affecting it is. Shakespeare is not only known for adding in unnatural events, but he also uses his own unique style of writing to express the story through his own views. Throughout the play, The Tragedy of Julius
The Supernatural in William Shakespeare's Macbeth In Macbeth the supernatural is used to entertain and terrify the audience. Supernatural things are those that do not belong in the natural world. In Elizabethan times, people were so terrified of the supernatural because they believed that there was a natural order which effectively governed the universe, and when this order was misaligned things would start to go very wrong. For instance, were a Thane to kill a king and then become king, he would have changed the natural order and thus strange things would happen, and in Macbeth they did – horses started eating each other and weather became very irregular. Today we are not terrified in the same way by the supernatural.
At the beginning of the play when we first see Juliet in Act I Scene
In the play of Macbeth we notice the works of how the supernatural can control or change
same time which is one of the reasons why it is so tragic. At the end
Throughout William Shakespeare's Macbeth, many characters evolve and many disappear into the background. The main character, Macbeth, travels through utter chaos when he proclaims himself monarch. When he first meets the witches of the supernatural, they tell him of the future. One of the themes amplified throughout the play is the circle of life, from the beginning to the end. The visions provided by the three witches begin Macbeth's quest for dominance. The three main effects of this theme are: the death of Macbeth's friends and family. Second, the deaths of his mortal enemies. The last point is the death of himself. The supernatural amplifies the theme of death.
Near the end of the play when they find out that Inspector Goole
The Importance of the Supernatural in Macbeth by William Shakespeare The supernatural is to play an essential part in the play 'Macbeth'; this is made clear from the first paragraph of the play, when the three witches are introduced. It is represented in many different forms, mainly: the witches, the dagger and the ghost of Banquo. Shakespeare's use of imagery and creative language in the play creates tension, fear and clearly displays the importance of the supernatural theme. At the start of the play, the supernatural is disguised in the form of nature, in this case a storm. Shakespeare uses pathetic fallacy to describe the strong force of nature- "Thunder and lightning - Enter three Witches.
Everyone has a slightly different interpretation of the supernatural but the interpretation which we can start with is Shakespeare’s. Everyone of Shakespeare’s time found the supernatural fascinating. Shakespeare interpreted the supernatural as witches, magic, unnatural and evil and he expressed his beliefs in the play, “Macbeth” very clearly, as he portrayed the three deformed women with control over the weather and the ability to predict the future. These three evil witches with magical powers were the creation of Shakespeare’s interpretation of the supernatural. Shakespeare’s contemporaries believed in the supernatural very strongly and a majority of them were frightened of it, including the king of that time, King James I of England.
Myths and religions often include divine or devilish beings with incredible powers. William Shakespeare incorporated witches with bizarre powers in his play, Macbeth. These witches possessed devilish powers to set the course of events in the plot and added to the flavor of the story. The witches' powers included omnientness, vision and apparition creation, and the ability to set the conditions for disaster, and the utilization of these abilities sets the movement of the play.
There are two scenes of merit to choose from but the scene I chose to analyse for this aspect of my research is the final scene, or The Climax.
The last person you would expect to encourage you to commit a crime would be your wife. Macbeth is motivated by his wife and by three Witches and gradually becomes more ruthless, evil, and murderous as the play progresses.
In the English Renaissance, there was a strong belief in the existence of the supernatural. Thus, the supernatural is a recurring aspect in William Shakespeare 's Macbeth and is an integral and important part of the plot. The role of the supernatural in Macbeth is to bring out emotional reactions within Macbeth that cloud his judgement, affecting his actions which ultimately leads to his downfall. This is demonstrated through the ambiguous prophecies of the witches, the supernatural phenomenon that Macbeth sees, and the apparitions that foreshadow how he will meet his end.
In the Shakespearean era, there was an eruption of superstition and alleged witchcraft. The people of that time had strong hatred for the ‘devil worshiping’ witches and had various trials and tests to determine their fate. Shakespeare used this as inspiration for his play ‘Macbeth’
The supernatural was a popular element in many of the plays written in Shakespeare's time (including Hamlet) and everyone of Shakespeare's time found the supernatural fascinating. Even King James I took a special interest in supernatural and written a book, Daemonologie, on witchcraft. It must be remembered that, in Shakespeare's day, supernatural referred to things that were "above Nature"; things which existed, but not part of the normal human life and unexplainable. The play Macbeth involves many supernatural actions that act as a catalyst for suspense and thrill, insight into character, foreshadowing of future events as well as making connections with the theme.